More than 36,000 Sudanese citizens have evacuated following fall of El Fasher to paramilitary group, says UN agency
More than 36,000 individuals have escaped Sudan's Kordofan area eastern sector of Darfur starting Saturday, according to the UN's migration organization.
The strategic central area connecting the country's Darfur provinces and the Khartoum-Riverine region has over recent weeks become the recent fighting area in the 24-month civil conflict between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary forces.
Massive Displacement Figures
An approximated 36,825 people evacuated from five areas in North Kordofan province between 26 October and 31 October, as reported by the International Organization for Migration.
The people, mainly traveling by foot, traveled to Tawila, a town to the west of El Fasher that is currently sheltering over 652,000 evacuated individuals.
Heightened Forces Deployment
Citizens of North Kordofan on Monday noted a substantial rise in both RSF and army deployment across communities throughout the state.
Both forces are competing for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan provincial capital and a key logistics and command center that joins Darfur to Khartoum.
"Today, all our forces have assembled at the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently shared video message.
Area Residents Detail Security Concerns
A resident of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, reported that the number of RSF vehicles had increased substantially since the group's seizure of El Fasher.
"We stopped going to our farms, concerned about fighting," the individual explained.
Another civilian, who requested anonymity for safety concerns, also indicated that "there has been a substantial growth in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the last fourteen days.
International Alarms and Requests
A senior UN official expressed concerns last week about "large-scale atrocities" and "ethnic-based retaliations" by RSF in Bara.
The official warned of patterns comparable to patterns in Darfur, where RSF militants have been accused of mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against certain racial groups.
The religious leader on Sunday urged an immediate ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors in Sudan, stating that attacks on civilians and impediments to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's ambassador to Egypt on Sunday charged RSF of committing war crimes in El Fasher and declared that the Sudanese government would not engage with the militia organization.
The ambassador further called on the international community to categorize the group as a terrorist organisation.